


Doesn’t Anybody Stay in One Place Anymore?

by mcgarrygirl78



Series: Thicker than Water [47]
Category: Criminal Minds
Genre: Alternate Universe, Angst, F/M, Family, Friendship, Romance
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2014-10-11
Updated: 2014-10-11
Packaged: 2018-02-20 15:06:16
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 4,469
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/2433170
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/mcgarrygirl78/pseuds/mcgarrygirl78
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>I don’t care if it’s selfish, I've never had a sibling before and it hurts to know he doesn’t want to stay close to me.”</p>
            </blockquote>





	Doesn’t Anybody Stay in One Place Anymore?

**Author's Note:**

> This story is written in the **Thicker than Water** universe, where the BAU are kids and teens. The title comes from the Carole King song, _So Far Away_.

“Hey, knock knock.” Emily poked her head into Hotch’s bedroom door and smiled. “Whatcha doing, twin?”

“Nothing much.” Hotch sat on his bed surrounded by brochures and booklets. He was reading things, putting them aside, and putting things in separate piles. His radio played the oldies station, which was nothing new. Van Morrison sang Brown Eyed Girl and Hotch managed to keep rhythm as he bopped to the music.

“I haven’t seen you all day. Can I come in?”

“Yeah.”

Emily came into his room and sat on the beanbag chair in the corner. She loved Hotch’s room; it was full of personality. He didn’t decorate himself. Emily was let loose in it, as long as she didn’t make it too girly. He had a full size bed with blue sheets. There was a beanbag chair and easy chair for relaxing.

He had a three-shelf bookshelf stuffed with his favorite reading, some photos, and a few knick-knacks. There was a standup closet right beside the two small windows. His desk sat directly in front of them; his radio was on the desk. There was a mirror on one of his walls and posters too. Hotch thought Steve McQueen was awesome so he had posters for _Bullitt_ and _The Thomas Crowne Affair_. He also had a _2001_ movie poster and one for _Led Zeppelin I_ , the album cover with the crash of the Hindenburg.

“What have you been doing all day?” Emily asked.

“College stuff.” Hotch held up one of the brochures. “We should have our SAT scores in the next week or so; its time to make some decisions. Everyday we’re getting mail from every school under the sun. I want to make my choices and get it over with.”

“How many choices do you think we should make?”

“I'm going for five tops…there's no need for more. Megan picked four but I think the extra one will be in case I don’t get into any of my four.”

“I doubt you'll have to worry about that.” Emily replied. “You're smart, Hotch. You’ll graduate in the Top 20 of our class; probably the Top 10. I have no doubt that your SAT scores were high. You do extra-curricular activities too.”

“I should probably do more.” Hotch said. “I wanted to play a sport but I didn’t make the baseball team freshman year. I never bothered to try out again.”

“You do plenty of things. You’ve got forensics, chess club, yearbook, and your volunteer stuff. Not to mention you're working a part-time job. No one would have to pull Mr. Kassmeyer’s leg to write you a stellar recommendation. Any college would be proud to count you as one of the Class of 2003. Wow, 2003…it sounds so weird to say.”

“I know.” Hotch crinkled his nose. “It feels weird to think about the 21st century. All of my life that’s been something out of a Kubrick film. It’s actually the century I’ll live most of my life in.”

“Imagine someone like Ashley.” Emily replied. “She's only going to the third grade.”

“Wow, way to make me feel old Prentiss.”

They both laughed as Hotch moved more booklets into his ‘no’ pile. He hadn't even heard of many of these colleges yet they all seemed to know he was about to be a senior in high school. Penelope would say that’s because Big Brother was always watching. In 1949 George Orwell believed it would all come to pass in 35 years. He wasn’t quite right but wasn’t wrong either.

“So what are your top five?” she asked, digging her lavender toes into the carpet. “Give them to me.”

“Well I actually just rounded them out. It took longer than I thought but none of them are public so I'm not sure if the money my parents left for me will cover everything. I have to start looking into financial aid and scholarships. Jason said he would help me.”

“What are the schools? Tell me.”

“Proximity is the most important thing so Boston University is my number one choice. Then Columbia, Fordham, Penn, and Villanova.” Hotch replied.

“Proximity?” Emily sat up. “Boston University is in Massachusetts. The other schools are in Pennsylvania and New York. What is that close to, Hotch?”

“Megan.” Hotch replied. “Her top four choices are Smith, Wellesley, Barnard, and Bryn Mawr. She truly believes she will receive a better education at a girls’ school. Georgetown Day is the only coed school she's ever attended. I won't argue…they're all top tier liberal arts schools. I don’t know if I ever told you but my mother graduated from Sweetbriar. Its one of the Seven Sisters schools.”

“You're following Megan and leaving us behind?” Emily asked. “Hotch, what are you thinking? All of those places are at least three hours away from us.”

“Yeah, I know. It’s far but they're all great schools and…”

“And what?” Emily demanded.

“Well, I want to go.”

“You just want to leave DC?” Emily got up from the beanbag chair. “How could you be so heartless?”

“Heartless? What are you talking about? I am not…”

“You don’t desert family! No matter what you never do that. How do you think Penelope, Spencer, and Ashley will feel when they hear you're going over three hours away?”

“I hardly know Ashley.” Hotch reasoned. “And I hope that all the kids will want to spread their wings far. I can see Penelope back at Berkeley making waves and Spencer is destined for MIT. Jason made us a family so that we could have a chance to live. That’s what I'm trying to do.”

“I cannot believe you.” tears brimmed before she blinked and they slid down her angry face. “I am so angry at you right now.”

“Why? What the hell did I do?” Hotch asked, starting to anger as well. “You're gonna be mad at me for wanting to grow and travel and just get to be me for a while. I don’t want to be a part of a pack, I just wanna be me.”

“You don’t want to be in this family anymore? So that’s how you feel now?”

“I never said…”

“Go straight to hell, Aaron Hotchner!” she exclaimed. “Go far away and see if I care. I hope it’s worth everything you'll lose.”

“Emily don’t…”

She turned and rushed out of the room. Hotch jumped off the bed, going after her.

“Emily! Emily, c'mon!”

Letting out a sound of frustration, Hotch kicked the wall. He was so mad he did it twice more and then punched it. That was definitely going to leave a mark.

***

“What's going on with you and Emily?”

“Just stay out of it Jason.” Hotch snapped.

“OK, OK.” Jason held up his hands in defense. “I'm not getting in it, I swear.”

“I am so sorry.” Hotch sighed, leaning against the counter.

He’d been loading the dishwasher after dinner. It had been a very tense dinner on his end. Everyone at the table knew that something was wrong but they just went about their normal family functions. It wasn’t improbable that two of the siblings had a fight…it happened. No one wanted to get in the middle.

When Hotch tried to talk to Emily a few minutes ago she told him to stay away from her. He’d seen Emily angry a few times but this was the angriest. Hotch couldn’t quite grasp why but he knew he wanted to fix it. He needed to do it on his own though…no point dragging Jason into the mire.

“Do you want to talk about it?” Jason asked.

“I really do but I hardly know where to begin. One minute everything was fine and then it really, really wasn’t. I'm just…I'm too close. I need to give this thing some distance and make sense of it.”

“That’s a good idea.”

Hotch nodded, going back to loading the dishwasher. Tonight was definitely a night for a long walk. It was something Hotch hadn't done in a while because he’d been so busy. Unfortunately he wasn’t going to be able to walk with one of his favorite people. It was this disagreement with Emily that would have his Adidas pounding the pavement again.

Maybe he would call Megan; she would always walk with him. No, that probably wasn’t the best idea. She might misinterpret his feelings and he didn’t need both girls mad at him at the same time. Hotch needed to put his thoughts into decipherable sentences and he could only do that by himself.

“Jason?”

“Yes?”

“If you could choose any school in the country, where would you go? Distance and money aren't important.”

“Dartmouth.” Jason replied. “My father went there and I’d love to follow in his footsteps.”

“You don’t think it’s heartless that I want to go away to school, do you?” Hotch asked.

“No. You’ve chosen some great schools to apply to. I hope you get into all of them and they have to fight over you.”

“Doubtful.” Hotch smirked.

“I chose American University because it has a great Philosophy program. It’s always in the Princeton Review Top 20 colleges and it was free for me. I get a quality education plus I come home to my family every night. You and I don’t have the same responsibilities, Hotch.”

“Emily has those responsibilities.” Hotch said.

“I'm sorry?”

“Emily has those responsibilities. She's not even 17 and she has to come home to her family every night. I'm not saying that’s the most horrible thing in the world, it isn’t, but Dartmouth isn’t an option for her.”

“No,” Jason shook his head. “I don’t think it is.”

They didn’t say much after that. Hotch and Jason thought their own separate thoughts and soon went their own separate ways.

***

When Emily came to Jason’s bedroom after midnight she was still crying. He pulled the sheet back and she crawled in with him. Curling around the boy she loved, Emily just let go. He did his best to comfort her.

Jason had no real idea of what was going on. Neither Hotch nor Emily was forthcoming with information. He wouldn’t push though; it wasn’t his place. They were growing up and could work out their problems. He knew how much they cared about each other.

“Tell me what's bothering you.” Jason’s tone was soothing as he slipped his hand under her tank top to stroke her back.

“He’s just going to leave us. He's going to Boston or wherever and doesn’t give a damn that his family will be hundreds of miles away missing him. After all we've been through and he's just going to up and leave for some girl.”

“You think this is all about Megan?”

“I don't know but it has to be something. Why would he want to leave his family, Jason?”

“I honestly don’t think that’s what its about.” Jason replied.

“What is it about then?” Emily asked. She sat up, extracted herself from him, and wiped her messy face.

“Well I'm not Hotch so I can't say for sure. Every child leaves home eventually, usually for college. He wants to go away and get to know who he is separate from us. He wants to explore, grow, learn, and make mistakes. All of the kids will probably do the same.

“I'm sure Morgan will get into some huge Division I school for football. JJ could do the same for soccer or decide to move to an adventurous, progressive town like Portland, Austin, or Boulder. Penelope wants to go to Berkeley, if she goes to college, because her parents fell in love there. Spencer will choose MIT or Harvard, I'm sure. Ashley, I don't know, but she’ll go away too. We raise them to leave us…it’s a parent’s peril.”

“Hotch isn’t my child. He’s…”

“He's what, Katya?”

“I don’t want him to leave me.” she lay back in his arms again. Emily sighed when Jason stroked her hair. She wanted to say so much but didn’t know the words. That wasn’t her nature…she always knew what to say and how to say it.

“He’ll be back.” Jason said. “He’ll be home for holidays and you two can always talk by phone.”

“Yeah, I guess. I just…I'm attached and I don’t want my twin to leave me. I don’t care if its selfish, I've never had a sibling before and it hurts to know he doesn’t want to stay close to me.”

“That’s not true. Hotch adores you; I know what you mean to him. He could go all the way to the end of the earth and you'd still be one of the most important people in his heart.” Jason said.

“Really?” she sniffled.

“Absolutely. No amount of distance will ever break the bonds we’ve formed with one another. In fact I think distance will only make them stronger. And he and Megan will be together so he won't get too homesick.”

“That’ll be OK I guess. I know how much they care about each other and I don’t want Hotch to be lonely.”

“Everything is going to be alright.” Jason said. “I know it will.”

Emily nodded, just holding on to him. It felt like it wouldn’t be but she didn’t want to be hopeless.

“I love him so much, Jason. I don’t want to lose him.”

Jason nodded, kissing her forehead. Emily sighed, tilting her chin up for a real kiss. Jason changed position on the bed as their kisses intensified. She ran her fingers through his hair and he moaned.

Her touch never failed to turn him on; make him shiver. His arms were wrapped around her but he raised them up for Emily to get his tee shirt off. They were definitely going to make love tonight. It would be soft, passionate, and reassuring. Then Jason would hold her in his arms until the sun came up.

“I love you Katya,” he murmured against her lips. “I love you so much.”

“I love you too. I love you always.”

***

Emily was surprised three days later, a rainy Wednesday evening, when Hotch showed up at Christabelle a half hour before closing. It was raining outside and he carried a huge blue umbrella.

“What are you doing here?” she asked.

“I thought we could walk home together. I know it’s kinda far but it would give us some time to talk.”

“Two and a half miles isn’t that far. C'mon in the back; I can introduce you to Natalie.”

Hotch nodded, feeling bad that his umbrella was dripping water all over the place. A guy walked behind him and cleaned it from the floor. Hotch stood beside Emily as she knocked on the door. A pleasant woman’s voice said to come in.

“Hey Natalie. He just showed up to surprise me so I thought I would finally introduce you two. This is Aaron, my twin. Aaron, this is Natalie Carmichael.”

“I've heard a lot about you.” Hotch said, extending his hand.

“I can definitely say the same.” Natalie stood, came around her desk, and shook his hand. “Wow, you two really do look alike. I can see why you were quickly dubbed ‘the twins’.”

“The Wonder Twins actually.” Hotch clarified.

“And he looks like me.” Emily said. “I'm three weeks older.”

“To the day.” Hotch added.

“Do you two do that a lot?” Natalie asked. “Do you finish each other’s sentences?”

“Sometimes.” They said in unison. “Jinx!”

Emily punched Hotch’s arm and he grinned.

“Well it’s really great to meet you Aaron.”

“Most people just call me Hotch. You can if you'd like.”

“Thank you; you can call me Natalie.” She replied smiling as she went back to her desk. “Emily, you can just go on home. I've got Trish tonight and cleanup shouldn’t be too much.”

“Are you sure?” Emily asked.

“I'm sure. I’ll see you Saturday afternoon?”

“Yes ma'am. Thanks, Nat.”

“You're welcome. Have a good night and stay dry.”

“Goodnight.”

They went back out onto the floor. Emily did a quick introduction with two of her four co-workers and then they headed out.

“I hope you didn’t walk here.” Emily said as he opened the umbrella. She slipped her arm in his as they started walking. “The rain was even heavier earlier.”

“I took the train. Are you sure you don’t mind the walk?”

“I don’t mind at all. It’s been too long since we’ve had one of our walks. I miss them.”

“Me too, Em.”

“Its gonna be hard to have them when you're living in Boston, New York, or Philadelphia.”

“I know.” Hotch replied.

They were quiet for a while, walking at a leisurely pace. Emily listened to the rhythm of the rain falling on their umbrella.

“I may have overreacted to your news.” She said quietly. “I was just so shocked to hear it. We talk to each other and you'd never mentioned anything like that before. I guess I never took into consideration that you would want to leave the nest…or something.”

“Megan and I are both pretty excited to see what's out there.” he said. “I’ll never be farther than a phone call away but I think this will be good for me. It’ll be hard too, Emily, believe me. I truly believe this move is the right thing.”

“Why?” she asked.

“I need to stand on my own two feet. I need to make sure I can take care of myself, solve my own problems, and pave my own way. When the shit really hits the fan I need to be able to handle it. I need to stop being a boy and become a man. Jason has always protected me…he was the first person who ever did. He made promises and actually kept them.” Hotch smiled but it was sad. “I’ll never be able to repay him for his friendship, guidance, and love. The best thing I can do is become a strong, independent man like him.”

“I never thought of it that way.”

“How did you think of it?” Hotch asked.

“I don't know, like you were running away from me specifically. I thought it was something I’d done.”

“Like what? You’ve done nothing but care about me.”

Emily shrugged but didn’t answer.

“I would never do something like that. You're like…you're everything to me Emily, OK? I've never had a sibling before and even though you were the last one to join the family until Ashley came along, my bond with you is really strong. It won't be easy to get rid of me.”

“I think that’s why you hated me so much in the beginning.” She replied. “We both felt that pull.”

“Maybe.” Hotch wanted his answer to sound noncommittal. It came out anything but. “I'm just glad we’re close now.”

“Me too.”

“I never meant to upset you.” he said. “That upset me too.”

“I'm sorry I accused Megan of trying to take you away. I really like her Hotch; I think you two compliment each other.”

“I really care about her. Not that I know how to put those feelings into words or anything. A few months ago I thought I didn’t care about her enough and that bothered me. Who knows? I just know she wants to stand on her own two feet too. It’ll be fun for us to take this journey together. It’s another way for us to grow closer.”

“When you say it like that, when you say stand on your own two feet, it seems as if you're saying you can't do that staying close to home for college. It seems as of you're saying I won't be able to do that.”

That was not what Hotch meant and he told her so. Comparing their two situations was like apples and oranges. Emily had the responsibility of the little ones. She was a maternal figure; leaving was not an option. They'd been through enough…she and Jason were the stabilizing force in their lives.

“When Derek pulled me out of that alleyway, Hotch, I never thought I’d be anyone’s mother figure. The thought never crossed my mind. I was a 14 year old girl who needed a mother of my own more than anything. But JJ, Penelope, Spencer, and Ashley bring such meaning to my life. They bring joy, curiosity, adventure; everything.

“I adore them and the life we all set up in our house in The Palisades. Still, even if I didn’t have the four of them depending on me I wouldn’t leave town for school for a couple of reasons. One, Washington DC is the best place to go to school for what I want to do. And two, I never want to be far away from Jason. He’s the love of my life.”

“Yeah,” Hotch nodded. “I know. I guess I just didn’t want you to be mad at me because you may have felt obligated to stay in DC.”

“I don’t feel obligated.” Emily replied. “I’ll take care of the people I love and get my education too. Don’t worry; I’ll have plenty of fun. Plans are already in motion for many good times.”

“Of that I have little doubt.”

They were quiet again as they kept walking. They were out of Georgetown and in The Palisades now. The neighborhoods were quiet; the rain drove everyone inside.

“Emily?”

“Yeah?”

“I love you.”

Emily glanced at him but Hotch made sure that he was looking straight ahead. She exhaled, leaning to kiss his shoulder.

“I love you too, Hotch. I love you all the way to the moon and back. You're always gonna be my brother and one of my closest friends. I promise that.”

“Me too…you'll always be my sister. So we’re OK?” Hotch asked.

“Of course we are. I'm really sorry that I acted the way I did. I was just in shock and couldn’t process what I was feeling.”

“It’s OK. They were your feelings and you have a right to them. No matter where I am there will always be a place for you when you want to visit.”

“Road trip!” Emily exclaimed, laughing.

Hotch laughed too, putting his arm around her shoulder and pulling her close.

***

“What are you doing?” Spencer asked, climbing on the couch next to where Emily sat.

“I'm watching a nature show about hippos in Kenya. It’s helping me come down after a long day. What are you doing, Spencer?”

“I'm getting ready to take my bath. I'm going to run the water myself. Jason will probably check on me but I’ll make sure not to overflow.”

“I'm sure you'll do great.” She grinned at him, pinching his cheek.

“When I'm all clean can you read us a story?” he asked.

“Sure I can, what do you guys want tonight?”

“I think Ashley wants _Charlie and the Chocolate Factory_. I’ll listen to that one again.”

“OK, _Charlie_ it is. You better go get your bath. Come and get me when you’re all clean and dressed in your pjs.” Emily said.

“OK.” Reid smiled as he jumped off the couch and headed for the stairs.

Emily relaxed a little more on the couch, getting into her show. It had been a long day. Her conversation with Hotch was necessary and good for them both, but it was draining. She didn’t want to do anything else tonight that required thought.

That was a shame since she would be reading a bedtime story in about 40 minutes. Emily needed to prepare for that; Spencer and Ashley liked the voices and the excitement. She didn’t want to let them down just because she was tired. JJ came through the den bopping her head to music that wasn’t playing.

“Can I have some ice cream?” she asked.

“Just two scoops.” Emily replied.

“How about two and a half scoops?” JJ countered.

“You can have two scoops of ice cream or a granola bar.”

“If I get sherbet instead can I have three scoops?”

“Jennifer Jareau…”

“OK, OK; two scoops it is.”

JJ went into the kitchen just as Jason was coming out. He sat down beside Emily on the couch, putting his arm around her.

“How are you?” he asked.

“I feel better. Did Hotch tell you he picked me up from work?”

“No, I haven’t talked to him since he came home. I'm figuring you two had a good talk.”

“We did. I understand a little more why he’s doing what he's doing. If I love him I can't stifle him…he needs his own space to be Hotch.”

“You need space to be Emily too.” Jason said.

“Emily is doing just fine. She’s got another half hour of some relaxing TV. Then its bedtime stories and I’ll probably tackle another book on my summer reading list. I don’t have to work tomorrow at the country club till noon so I can stay up late tonight.”

“That sounds like fun.”

“You wanna stay up with me?” she asked, a twinkle in her brown eyes.

“Yeah, I think I will.”

She smiled, her hands on his cheeks. Emily pulled his face to hers and gave him a sweet kiss. JJ came out with her bowl of ice cream and pretended to gag.

“Cute.” Emily smirked. “Let me see the bowl please.”

JJ put it down and Emily approved of the amount of ice cream in it.

“Enjoy, and don’t forget to bring it back downstairs when you're done.”

“I won't. Thanks Emily.”

“You're welcome. You know I love you, right JJ?”

“Aww man.” She crinkled her nose. “Yeah, I know. I love you too.”

Emily just laughed as the young blonde left the room. She was still bopping her head.

“I wouldn’t give up this life for anything Jason. Going to school locally is not a burden for me or a dream unfulfilled. This is my dream. I've always wanted a family and I have one. I'm going to accomplish all the goals I've set for myself but what I'm doing right here, right now, is very important to me too.”

Jason just hugged her. He didn’t quite know what to say except that he loved her. Emily already knew that. He loved her and was so glad she was happy with him and their family. She was fully emancipated; could go anywhere in the world. Their home was where her heart was.

She was going to watch all the kids leave the nest and it would probably break her heart each time. But it was for the best and Emily knew that as well as he did. One day, many years from now, they would have the house to themselves. Then they would start the process all over again with babies of their own.

***

  



End file.
